Durga Puja 2018

On 21st February 1952, countless young Bengali students stained the streets of Dhaka with blood, roaring with the slogan: “We want our mother tongue!” Amidst the tide of intense protests and the sacrifice of several fresh lives, the rulers’ conspiracy ultimately failed. The honor of the mother tongue, Bengali, was safeguarded. To honor this historic sacrifice for the mother tongue, UNESCO declared this special day as International Mother Language Day on 17th November 1999. To this day, it continues to be observed with great dignity across the world. Yet, it is a matter of profound regret that the self-oblivious Bengali of today is consciously beginning to forget their own proud mother tongue. In everyday practical life, they have ceased to consider Bengali indispensable. In the ambition to become international, they have gradually surrendered themselves to foreign languages and cultures. Consequently, the Bengali language has been severely neglected and pushed into the background. One’s mother tongue is the very identity of nationhood, the bearer of national culture. Therefore, the time has come to look back once more at the glorious past of our mother tongue. To bow down before Bengal’s rich, vast cultural and literary heritage, and to reclaim the honor of our mother tongue. Through our endeavor, we have tried to take a pledge to re-establish the dignity and prestige of our mother tongue. Join us, so that together we may dedicate ourselves to the sacred mission of restoring our mother tongue Bengali to its lost glory.